Roethlisberger is one of the game's grittiest performers, often playing through pain, but the shoulder and first rib injuries he suffered against the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 10 are a different beast.

SI's Peter King wrote Monday that "anyone forecasting a week for him to return is guessing." Dr. Clark Fuller, the director of Thoracic Surgery at St. John's Health Center in Santa Monica, Calif., told King that a premature return would put Big Ben at risk of nerve damage along with previously reported threats to the aorta.

"This is not about being a tough guy," said Fuller, who added that a quarterback's typical throwing motion might prevent a rib injury from healing. "Playing football with a dislocated first rib would put you at severe risk. There are many things to be concerned about, including destroying the nerves in the arm."

Fuller hasn't inspected Roethlisberger's injury but estimated the quarterback would miss a minimum of four weeks and hoped the Steelers wouldn't push him back too soon -- Ravens or not.

"I do remember their coach, Mike Tomlin, not allowing that safety (Ryan Clark) to play in altitude in Denver because of his sickle-cell disease," Fuller said. "That is a good sign, to me. I believe he won't risk the health of Roethlisberger."